


A Muddy Story

by Selenay



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Community: femslash07, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-12
Updated: 2007-03-12
Packaged: 2017-12-15 04:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/845431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenay/pseuds/Selenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for suzy_queue as part of the femslash07 ficathon: "I’d like to point out that none of this was my fault."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Muddy Story

The stench in the locker rooms was incredible. It stripped the linings of lungs and made the eyes water. A female lieutenant who ventured in retreated as fast as she could, coughing to clear her throat of the vile stuff that seemed to seep everywhere.

The smell came from the muddy boots and uniforms scattered on the floor. They had the look of clothes abandoned as people ran, trying to get the mud off before the stink could be absorbed into the skin. A trail of pants and shirts led to the shower, where the slightly fainter odour of the mud was joined by the scent of floral perfumes and fruity shampoos to create an interesting, if still revolting, steamy fog.

Vala's voice floated over the curtain of her cubicle, sounding slightly watery and hoarse.

"I'd like to point out that none of this was my fault."

There was a long pause as though the woman in the next cubicle had to think hard before she could answer. Foamy suds ran down the floor from Vala's cubicle to join the mass of mud and bubbles in the gully down the centre of the showers.

"It wasn't really our fault, either," Sam said, sputtering as water streamed down her face.

"I know. But it definitely wasn't my fault."

Vala said it with the bright cheerfulness of someone who was often the cause of unpleasant disaster and was quite happy to be able to claim complete innocence for once.

"Do you have any more soap?" Sam asked.

"Need any help washing your back, too?" Vala could make the most innocent comments sound suggestive, and that definitely wasn't innocent.

There was a spluttering sound from behind Sam's curtain and then her voice, sounding a little choked, floated out, "No, just the soap thanks."

Vala muttered something that was drowned out by the noise of the shower and there was the sound of a container being pushed under the wall of the shower cubicles.

"Thanks," Sam said.

More soapy suds began streaming from both showers and the stench from the mud began to fade a bit more. For a while, the locker room was quiet apart from the sound of splashing water. Then Vala began humming quietly, not really aware of what she was doing except that it felt good to finally have the mud and smell out of her hair. Her voice was low and rough, but the quiet humming of a tune she couldn't quite remember was soothing.

"I didn't know you could sing," Sam said.

The humming stopped and Vala hesitated. "I can't. I wasn't."

"You were humming."

"The mud must be affecting your mind. You should really ask Doctor Lam to look at that."

There was the sound of vigorous scrubbing and a flood of foam appeared from under Vala's curtain. Then there was a barely restrained screech and the sound of a shower being turned off quickly. The towel draped over the wall of Vala's cubicle whipped out of sight.

A moment later Sam did the same thing, with a slightly more strangled yelp of shock.

They emerged from the cubicles at the same time, wrapped in white towels that barely reached their thighs and Vala took a long moment to appreciate Sam. Towels were hard fashion accessories to carry off, but the length complimented Sam's lovely legs and the drips of water wandering down Sam's shoulders were heading towards some very interesting places.

The blush that crept up Sam's throat and blended with rosy cheeks from the shower made Vala grin. Sam rolled her eyes and moved out of the shower area. Vala followed her, taking the time to appreciate the view.

The pile of foul smelling uniforms dampened Vala's enjoyment a little, but it wasn't often that she got to see Sam Carter in only a small towel so she manfully did her best to ignore the stench.

Nothing would come from the flirting and Vala was quite content with that. She had the feeling that Sam was the type who wanted deep, meaningful relationships with lots of baggage rather than the fun fuck with no strings relationships that Vala preferred. Long declarations of mutual adoration and walking hand in hand across flower-strewn meadows didn't rank highly on Vala's list of 'fun things to do'. Playing with Sam's mind, just a little, did and they both knew the limits.

Sam opened her locker and turned away from Vala to start dressing. Vala made no attempt to be that discrete.

"I don't think those villagers liked whatever you did to them the last time you were there," Vala said, smiling as Sam's shoulders tensed slightly.

"We didn't do anything!"

"That's what I always say, but does anyone believe me?"

The sensible white bra that Sam was putting on amused Vala. Sam could be outwardly unconventional, riding that motorbike of hers and cheerfully spending hours coated in engine grease to work on some new gizmo, but inwardly she was quite conventional.

Vala pulled on her shirt and sniffed experimentally. "It's hard to tell in here, but I think I've got rid of it all."

Sam's damp hair was tousled from her shirt, a look that Vala thought suited her very well. "That mud seemed to get into places I didn't know mud could get into."

Vala raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Tell me more."

For the first time, Sam didn't react the way she expected. Instead of blushing and rolling her eyes, the blonde woman turned away to pick up her filthy uniform. Boots went under the bench and the mud-caked jacket, shirt and pants were shoved into the laundry. Then she pulled on a leather jacket and started checking the contents of her backpack.

"Did I say something wrong?" Vala asked.

Sam raised her head. "Do you ever mean any of it?"

"Any of what?"

"The flirting, the innuendo. Do you actually mean any of it with anyone?"

For the first time in a long time, Vala was speechless. There should have been a clever riposte waiting for her, there usually was, but she had nothing. It was strange and unsettling because Vala was pretty sure that this was Sam's usual role in these conversations.

"Well, I . . . that is . . ." Vala stumbled to a halt and frowned at Sam. "You're not supposed to ask that."

Sam frowned. "Why not?"

It was a maddening response and Vala was still trying to formulate her reply when Sam left the locker room. She hastily tied her wet hair away and kicked her muddy uniform under the bench, coughing when the rough movement released a fresh wave of the horrific smell. By the time she reached the corridor, Sam was disappearing around the corner at the end. Vala tried not to look too much like she was chasing her, which was difficult when she was barely a step down from sprinting along the corridor, and reached the lift just as the door was closing.

Vala jabbed the call button impatiently and was rewarded with a re-opening lift and Sam's slightly surprised expression. She stepped inside and stood next to Sam, carefully not look at her.

"You aren't supposed to ask that because that's not how the game is played," Vala said after the doors closed. "I say something, you pretend to be embarrassed and roll your eyes at me. That's the way it works."

"Why?"

Vala couldn't read anything from Sam's voice, but she was starting to have some suspicions about where this conversation was going; or at least about where Sam was trying to go with it.

"Look, I am not walking along beaches with you and shopping for kittens. They make me sneeze."

"Really?"

Vala shifted. "Well, no, but -"

The lift arrived at their floor and Vala followed Sam. It took her a couple of seconds to realise that they were on the floor top floor of the SGC with a nice airman waiting to sign them out, and Vala almost stopped right there except that she had probably started all of this and she was still hoping that Sam was calling her bluff. There was no way that Sam was really hinting that she wanted the flirting to mean something and Vala was not going to back down until she admitted it. Probably.

"Are you sure the mud hasn't affected your mind? I can get Dr. Lam." Vala asked, surprised by the edge of panic in her voice. "Do we need marines to tranquillise you?" She got an odd look from the airman, but she was used to that and smiled flirtatiously at him. His expressions shifted from confused to confused and worried. She was used to that, too, and it was easy to ignore. Instead, she kept her mouth shut while he checked her ID and signed her out.

"Why do you want make this into something?" Vala asked when they were in the second lift.

"I don't know," Sam said, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the lift doors. "I wish I did."

Vala rolled her eyes, unnoticed, and tried to find a way to let Sam down gently; she failed. "This is a bad idea."

The air of confidence that Sam had been exuding for the last few minutes abruptly began to leech away and Vala tried not to feel guilty.

"Fine, Vala," Sam said quietly. "I'm sorry."

It felt as though there was a yawning cavern in front of Vala, one that was much more dangerous for her sanity than anything else she had done for the past twelve months. Sam wasn't a quick fuck and leave her kind of woman. This kind of thing would have consequences.

The lift reached the top level and Vala followed Sam out in silence, not even remembering to flirt with the guard who logged them out. Their boots echoed as they walked across the empty, covered parking lot. After hours covered in stinking, reeking mud even the faint smell of gas and metal was good. The walk gave Vala time to think, which only made her more certain that this whole thing was a very bad plan and she definitely had to stop it before anything actually happened.

Vala took a deep breath and remembered the towel, the enticing trail of water down Sam's shoulders, the half-dozen other stolen glimpses of the unmilitary side of Sam.

They reached Sam's motorbike and Vala hesitated. It would be so easy to walk away.

"This is a very bad idea," Vala said. "Possibly the worst idea you've ever had, and that's definitely saying something. I thought your escape plan this afternoon was the worst plan I'd ever heard and look how that turned out. When this ends badly, just remember that it was all your idea."

Sam just grinned and handed her the spare helmet.


End file.
